14 minutes after being put on the field to replace captain Alvaro Morata in the Euro 2024 final, Mikel Oyarzabal scored a goal worthy of going down in Spanish football history.

After Spain unexpectedly opened the scoring thanks to Nico Williams at the beginning of the second half, as usual, coach Luis de la Fuente sent Mikel Oyarzabal onto the field to replace Álvaro Morata in the 68th minute. His duties were clearly assigned. Obviously, that was to help protect the home team’s advantage in a match where England almost built a wall in front of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s goal.

However, after Cole Palmer unexpectedly equalized for England just as quickly as Nico Williams’ opener, Mikel Oyarzabal clearly understood the responsibility of leading new attacks for “La Roja” otherwise want both sides to go into extra time, including a penalty shootout.

When he saw Marc Cucurella running down the left sideline very quickly, Oyarzabal decided to pass the ball to the “hairy guy” and then rushed forward. Understanding Oyarzabal’s intentions, Cucurella immediately pushed the ball back into the middle in the direction of his teammate’s movement and Oyarzabal, not being caught offside, was faster than the pair of midfielders John Stones and Marc Guehi, and pointed the ball with the tip of his shoe. into the net to the surprise of both England’s defense and the audience.